horsetail capsules

Recommended intake: Take 3 capsules daily, unchewed, with sufficient liquid.

Important notes: Food supplements are not a substitute for a balanced and varied diet and healthy lifestyle. The stated recommended daily intake must not be exceeded. Keep out of reach of small children.

Allergens: According to the raw material specification, it contains no allergens requiring declaration pursuant to Annex II of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011.

Storage: Store in a cool, dry place, do not freeze, and protect from direct sunlight.

Two shoots, two tasks

Field horsetail sprouts twice a year, and the two shoots have nothing in common. In early spring, a pale brown shoot appears with no green leaves at all; it carries only the spore cone and draws entirely on the reserves of the underground rhizome. After just a few weeks, it dies off.

Only then do the green, whorled, branching summer shoots appear, which carry out photosynthesis and build up reserves for the next spring. The spores themselves have four ribbon-shaped appendages that stretch out in dry conditions and curl up in damp conditions. This movement flings them out of the cone, precisely when the air is dry.

How silicon gets into the plant

Through the roots, the plant absorbs dissolved silicic acid from the soil water and deposits it again in the cell walls of the outer skin as solid, glass-like silicic acid. Bamboo, grasses, and nettles use the same strategy, but none as pronounced as horsetail.

Because these deposits are mineral, they outlast the decay of the plant. In archaeobotany, such microscopic silica bodies can still be identified in the soil after thousands of years and assigned to individual plant groups.

Why species purity matters especially here

At first glance, marsh horsetail resembles field horsetail, but it is a different raw material. The two can be distinguished by the side branches: in field horsetail, the lowest branch segment is longer than the associated leaf sheath on the stem; in marsh horsetail, it is shorter.

The habitats also help. Field horsetail grows in fields, on railway embankments, and along paths, while marsh horsetail grows in wet meadows, ditches, and bogs. Wild harvesting here requires trained staff, and the botanical identification of each batch is part of the incoming inspection.

Silicon or silicic acid

When comparing two products, it is worth taking a close look at the reference value. Our extract is standardized to 7 percent silicon, that is, to the element itself.

Some suppliers instead state the content of silicic acid or silicon dioxide. In this compound, the element makes up just under half of the mass, because the oxygen is included in the calculation. The same raw material then appears with a figure roughly twice as large. If you only compare the percentages side by side, in this case you are comparing two different things.